THON, short for Penn State Dance
Marathon, is the largest run student philanthropy in the world! From August
until mid-February, students at Penn State raise money for the Four Diamonds
Fund at Penn State’s Children’s Hospital in Hershey, PA. Any child in the state
of Pennsylvania that is diagnosed with cancer will not have to pay any medical
bills not covered by their families insurance due to this fund!
This years theme was
"Believe Beyond Boundaries"
Look at the Four Diamonds hanging
from the ceiling!
THON is culminated with a 46 hour no sitting, no sleeping
dancing marathon. Over 700 students stand on their feet for a weekend (6pm
Friday until 4 pm Sunday) in State College at the Bryce Jordan Center. Last
year they raised over $13.2 million dollars, and since 1977 they have raised over
$114 million dollars For The Kids.
I was lucky enough to get on an
Alumni Tour, which brought me down to the floor with all the dancers!
It is very hard to describe the
atmosphere in the BJC. It is full of energy, music and love. It is a feeling.
It is THON. It is Penn State!
After my tour on Saturday
afternoon, I went up to the stands to support the 700+ dancers. I was there
from 7 am Sunday until 4 pm Sunday! Just look at how packed the BJC gets and
all of the dancers on the floor.
The picture to the left is
Football Coach James Franklin, giving the dancers some words of encouragement.
The picture on the right is the
total amount raised in 2015-2016, $9,77,332.32 For The Kids!
So proud of Penn State and all
15,000+ volunteers FTK!!!